The Bills need to put fans in the seats and have had nothing but glowing remarks about Tebow and his leadership capabilities. In what could be the real surprise of the first round, Buffalo opts for Tebow at nine.

With all due respect to NFP’s Wes Bunting, while selling tickets is important to any NFL franchise Buffalo’s personnel department is not going to make a pick based on what will most positively affect ticket sales. Not the way GM Buddy Nix is building things anyway.

And yes the Bills have been positive in their comments about Tebow, but it doesn’t mean they think he can be a starter as a rookie. And if he’s not capable of being a starter as a rookie (which is the general consensus among the so called experts) with all that he is working on (throwing mechanics) and will have to work on (reading NFL coverages, adjusting to pro style offense) I can’t see the Bills using their pick at nine on Tebow.

As I’ve stated many times, the Bills have a lot of positional holes and they need to get immediate impact starters with their first two draft choices, similar to the way they did last year when they drafted Eric Wood, Jairus Byrd and Andy Levitre in the first two rounds last year and got them on the field quickly as impact starters, with Maybin soon to follow this year.

If there is the slightest margin for doubt that Tebow is not ready to be an NFL starter in year one of his pro career then there’s no way the Bills take him at nine.

Appearing on a national conference call Wednesday, ESPN’s Mel Kiper was asked where he could see Tim Tebow coming off the board and he doesn’t have him going in round one.

“Tebow’s a two,” said Kiper. “Sure it’s possible he goes late in the first round. There was a time when I thought he was a late first-round pick, there was a time when I thought he was a third-round pick. But now when it has all settled out I have him as a second-round pick and I have him going to Buffalo at 41, especially if the Bills pass on a quarterback at nine and I have indications they will (pass).”

It’s an interesting take that Kiper has on where the Bills will go in round two. I maintain that with all the positional holes the Bills have that they need to land instant starters with their first two picks, and Tebow might not be ready to start for a year or two.

Naturally the Bills brass could have a much different opinion, but knowing Tebow is probably not going to be a starter in 2010 in the NFL I hesitate to consider him a first or second round pick for Buffalo. For a team that might not have to put him on the field in year one he could be a first or second round pick. For the Bills though I’m not as certain.

It’s not that I don’t doubt Tebow could be a successful NFL QB, but with the general consensus being that he’ll need a year or two in the NFL practice setting before he’s ready to start, I don’t know if it’s worth it for the Bills to invest a high pick in him knowing how much they need help in a lot of positions right now.

Bills Hall of Famer Jim Kelly after having dinner with Tim Tebow, is impressed with what he thinks he can bring to an NFL team. As far as where to draft him if he was picking for the Bills is where it gets interesting.

He also raised the possibility at trading down at nine. Kelly however, also pointed out that he’s not a scout and can’t give an educated opinion on how Tebow’s game would translate to the NFL.

As much as Tebow has going for him, the bottom line as I see it is Tebow will not be a quality starter for just about any team as a rookie. The Bills have too many positional needs to use a first or second round pick on a player that’s not going to make an impact in year one.

Most people see Tebow as a player that will need time to develop (2-3 years). Buffalo’s roster needs starting caliber talent right now, especially with their first two picks. That’s not Tebow with all he is still undertaking in revamping his game.

Despite all that I think there are enough teams enamored with him that he’ll get drafted before Buffalo’s pick at 41. Hopefully for his career he can go to a team where he can continue to develop a passing delivery more suited to success in the NFL game, without having to worry about leading a team on the field as a rookie as well.

While the debate rages leading up to the NFL Draft as to whether Tim Tebow can completely revamp his throwing motion and still be a successful NFL QB, Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress reminds everyone that another QB, that is now arguably one of the five best in football, had similar issues not too long ago.

In an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News, Childress explained Tebow’s situation and how Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers made the dramatic transition that Tebow is undertaking.

“Aaron Rodgers was a complete re-do in his throwing motion from Cal, where people didn’t like his stroke and how the ball came out. And he’s doing fine,” Childress told the Philadelphia Daily News. “Can it be done? It can be done. It’s just a matter of if you as a coach and you as a coaching staff feel like you can fix it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It only takes one person to like him, and they’re going to do everything in their power to make it right.”

What should be noted is that Rodgers did not take the field as the full time starter until his fourth season, affording him a ton of time to not only perfect his throwing motion, but to also learn his offensive system and gain a season’s worth of experience in the preseason (16 games over 4 years).

A team that won’t have to throw Tebow out on the field as a rookie would be the best situation for the Gators QB to succeed. As good as even his most ardent supporters believe he is it will still take time.

More player moves this week as the Bills now have six receivers on their roster and Ashton Youboty just re-signed. Let’s see what you’ve got for us this week in the way of questions for Fan Friday from the inbox (AskChris@bills.nfl.net).
1 – Hey chris
I was looking at some mock drafts and some people seem to be predicting a possible run on OT in the top ten. If 3 tackles went before the bills pick do you think the bills would consider trading their first for Jared Gaither from the ravens? He has a 1st round tender on him but hes only 23 , has experience playing tackle, and he only missed 5 games out of the 33 he played in ( which is preety good considering how often our offensive lineman are hurt). I wondered what your opinion on Terrence Cody in the second round. He seems to be working on his weight and I think would be a good value in the second. Keep up the good work man thanks.
Andy
Lockport , NY
CB: My biggest concern is the Lions at second overall start the OT run early and four OTs are off the board by the time the Bills are on the clock. But I think as long as one of the top four are there (Okung, Bulaga, Davis, Williams) they’d take one of them.
But having a contingency plan in place couldn’t hurt. From what I’ve been hearing out of Baltimore it might not take a 1st to get Gaither. I think the Bills second-round pick at 41 could get a deal done for him. I just wonder why the Ravens are not hesitating about trying to move him. I know they have Oher, but you don’t see teams jettisoning promising young left tackles.

2 – Chris,
Can Trent Williams play Left Tackle? Everything I read about him seems to be vague on the matter.

Pete Howell
Fairport

CB: This is where not having the full story can concern fans about certain players. Trent Williams had played left tackle through high school before coming to Oklahoma, where he started his career at left tackle. With Phil Loadholt in front of him (now with the Vikings) he didn’t flip over to left until this past season, his senior year.

At the start of the season he had a series of minor injuries that hampered his performance, but the guy played anyway. As the season wore on he got healthier and his play really took off. I think he can play left tackle effectively and he has the work ethic and intangibles you want to see from a big guy. You want to know they want to be the best and that’s exactly what he said at the combine.

3 – Hey Chris,

I was wondering if you would take a shot at Tim Tebow if you were in the head coaching position at pick 9? Do you see the Bills drafting him at 9, or perhaps in the 2nd round if he happens to be there? Do you know what Buddy Nix or Chan Gailey’s feelings are towards Tim Tebow? What do you think they are going to do about the QB position? Thank you!

CB: Personally I would not take Tim Tebow at nine if I were picking for the Bills. I would not even take him in round two with pick 41. The reason why is the Bills have so many positional holes and needs that they cannot afford to use a high pick on a player that is not equipped to start right away in the NFL at his given position.

While there is much debate on just how good Tebow can be at the NFL level, no one is debating that it’s going to take him about two to three years to be NFL ready at the QB position. Knowing that, the Bills can’t use a high pick on a guy that’s not going to start right away. They need starters with their first two picks, similar to what they got out of last year’s draft. Wood, Byrd and Levitre were all starters. That’s a big step forward for this roster. They have to do that again this year. They’re not in a position to wait on a guy they draft in the first two rounds.4 – Chris,

With the Bengals and Ravens seemingly out on Terrell Owens and not a lot of other teams reportedly interested is there any chance that Buffalo will bring him back at a small price if he is still available late in the offseason?

Thanks,
David (Penfield, NY)

CB: I just don’t see it happening. The Bills have made their plans clear in stating Owens will not be offered a contract. They want to turn the page at receiver and see what the young kids have got. Personally I like that approach. How do you how good Hardy and Johnson can be if you don’t give them the opportunity?5 – Hi Chris:
I’m thinking out of the box a little here. Truth be told, the Bills are probably looking at two more non-playoff seasons. With that in mind, I see a left tackle as the obvious first draft pick next month. It is supposedly a deep draft for offensive linemen. What would you think about a right tackle in the second round if a quality player is available? That would solidify the O-line with four high draft picks and give them a couple years to mature together while the Bills collect the rest of the needed parts.
Pete Johanson
Youngsville PA

CB: I don’t think it’s out of the question, but I would suspect it to happen later in the draft like round three or four. They’ve got a stop gap veteran player in Cornell Green for right tackle, so they’re covered for this year and next. Plus they have young tackle prospects on the roster in Demetrius Bell, Jamon Meredith, Andre Ramsey and Jason Watkins. In round two I think the play is nose tackle.

All too often Bills fans see who the so called experts believe the Bills will take with their ninth overall pick in a myriad of mock drafts. So we’ve decided to flip it around. Here are some of the top choices Bills fans are making for Buffalo’s pick at nine in the M&T Bank Draft Day Challenge, which runs through April 21st.

Position-wise offensive tackles are taking up the majority of the vote so far with 32% of the ballots cast going for a pass protector. But quarterback is right behind with 31.2% of the vote cast by Bills. That’s followed by DT/DE with 6.2%.

Here are the top 10 most popular players picked by Bills fans so far for the ninth overall pick.

Remember it’s free to try your hand in the M&T Draft Day Challenge. Make your choice here. You only have until April 21st, with a chance to win an autographed jersey from the Bills top draft pick among other great prizes.

“You’ve got to decide how much you’re willing to risk, understanding that the reward can be feast or famine,” said Gailey.

“You don’t know the risk and reward factor in all of this right now. Some guys have changed their technique and throwing motion and some guys haven’t. I know one thing, if one guy can I’d bet on him.”

It sounds as if Gailey recognizes that Tebow is a risk knowing he’s trying to revamp his entire passing motion at the highest level of football. But he along with a lot of other NFL team executives do not seem to be shying away from Tebow all that much.

There appears to be an inherent belief on the part of a good number of NFL talent evaluators that Tebow can will himself to do just about anything. And that’s why a lot of NFL coaches do not appear to have an issue with betting on him.

With Tim Tebow one of the dozen players on a pre-draft visit to One Bills Drive Monday, Bills head coach Chan Gailey offered a couple of comments about his impressions with the University of Florida QB.

“I think it’s obvious to everybody that he’s a very engaging young man,” said Gailey. “He’s a very intelligent football player. I really enjoyed the short time I had with him, talking football, talking life and just what he’s all about. You can see why he was an excellent leader at the University of Florida. I think he’s well ahead of a lot of people and headed toward a good career in the NFL.”

Gailey was also a quarterback at the University of Florida from 1971-73, so they no doubt had some Gator talk during their brief sit down.

With respect to the improvements Tebow has tried to make with his throwing motion Gailey feels his delivery is better now.

“I tell you what he made drastic improvement from where he was during his college career to where he was at his individual pro day,” Gailey said. “He made good progress. Whether that sticks when there are bodies flying around you and you’re in the heat of the battle… There are a lot of reps between those two times from doing it at a pro day with nobody running around you trying to hit you and when the bullets are starting to fly.”

Most NFL coaches love Tebow’s approach to football and while some might question his throwing motion, no one questions his intangibles and leadership skills. Where that puts him on Buffalo’s draft board however, is anyone’s guess.

The Bills have already had a few groups of pre-draft visitors in at different times following the NFL combine in late February. And there’s another group in at One Bills Drive here on Monday.

There are about a dozen NFL draft prospects. Pre-draft visits are commonplace in the league and gives teams one last opportunity to spend some time with certain prospects while also introducing the players to what they have to offer on the NFL landscape in terms of facilities, training, coaching and city.

Per team policy names of pre-draft prospect visitors are not made public.

SI.com’s Peter King is reporting a strong interest on the part of the Bills in Tim Tebow.

Here is his twitter post to that effect.

SI_PeterKing Not to set off any alarm bells in Buffalo or anything, but Buddy Nix really likes Tim Tebow.

When King was asked on twitter if the Bills like him enough to take him in the second round King responded as follows.

SI_PeterKing They’re one of 8 teams that might between 25ish and 45ish.

I think while this might be very exciting to some Bills fans and very intriguing for someone like myself, we all need to remember this is the time of year when deception rules the roost.

The Bills could very well be interested in Tebow, who is having a pre-draft visit with the team today. But history has shown that sometimes the players that Buffalo doesn’t seemingly pay much attention to leading up to the draft are the ones they end of picking.

The quarterback class in the 2010 has been described as “thin” by many so called draft experts. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay took that characterization a step further when asked what could be available in round two after Sam Bradford and Jimmy Clausen are off the board.

“First of all I have Bradford rated fifth overall and I have Clausen rated 36th on my board, which I understand is lower than most,” said McShay. “Even if you consider him a first rounder I don’t have another quarterback with a second round grade in this class. They’re the only two players, Bradford and Clausen, that I have with grades in the first two rounds.”

“I think Colt McCoy, as much as I love him and his competitiveness, I think he’s overrated. I think he’s going to have a big, big shock to the system when he gets to the next level. I don’t think Tebow is worth a second-round pick. I don’t think (Tony) Pike or anyone else in this class is worth a second-round pick.”

Now that’s only one analyst’s opinion, but “thin” has been used by more than one draft analyst when describing the QB class. That doesn’t mean there isn’t good value in rounds 3 or 4, but when it comes to what the Bills might do in rounds one and two, quarterback is looking less and less like it will be in the cards, unless Clausen is still on the board at nine.

McShay went on to say that in rounds one and two you’re aim is to draft players that can start for you right away or at some point in their rookie season. That’s primarily why he doesn’t have Tebow as a worthwhile choice in the first two rounds. He believes he needs time to develop and would be a better value in rounds 3 or 4.

Four of those five teams have top 10 picks in round two as well as round one. Round two could be where one of those teams strongly considers taking Tebow, especially if they address a positional need other than QB in round one.

The Patriots meanwhile have three second-round picks (44, 48, 53), which would give them the trading power to move up or down the board as they see fit in round two, should they want to leapfrog some of these teams for Tebow.

There are bound to be varying reports on just how well Tim Tebow did in putting his new arm delivery on display at Florida’s pro day, but by most accounts he helped himself with his performance.

FOXSports.com had a reporter at the field in Gainesville and he spoke with some NFL scouts, who believe Tebow did help himself, particularly with his improved footwork, which improved his short and long throw accuracy. Observers were also impressed with how he was able to take good coaching and apply it so quickly to revamp his throwing.

I think the bottom line is you can’t argue that Tebow is a winner, so if he’s able to show he has the proper mechanics to accompany his physical tools and intangibles, he just might improve his draft stock and that doesn’t happen often this close to the draft.

Tebow has been busy revamping his throwing delivery with a host of renowned coaches including former Bills QBs coach Sam Wyche. CFL coach of the Year Marc Trestman has been tutoring him on the west coast offense, while Noel Mazzone is schooling him on the numbered offensive system. Both schemes are the predominant ones in the league.

Tebow is not expected by many to be a first-round pick, but if his throwing delivery shows significant improvement, it could change some people’s minds. The quarterback’s intangibles (leadership, poise, work ethic) are off the charts, so if he can demonstrate improved throwing mechanics it could convince a team to take the leap.

Tim Tebow just recently finished his address of the throng of media huddled around him, and it was a throng. Here’s photographic evidence as virtually the entire media contingent was at his end of the room. We’ll have more from Tebow in our Roundup report on Day 2 of the NFL Combine later today on Buffalobills.com.

In the wake of the news that Tim Tebow has been revamping his throwing mechanics, former Bills quarterbacks coach, Sam Wyche, who is one of four current and former NFL coaches assisting the Florida Heisman Trophy winner, believes Tebow is ready to play QB in the NFL.

“If this guy can’t be a starting quarterback in the NFL,” Wyche told the St. Petersburg Times, “then I was in the wrong profession for a lot of years.”

“He’s as smart as anyone,” Wyche said. “I was around Montana and Boomer, and they would be at the top of the list of understand theory coming out of college. They understood concepts. This guy is right with them. I hope he gets a good coordinator and a good quarterback coach. If not, he’ll be smarter than they are.”

As part of Tebow’s coaching contingent, it’s hard not to think that Wyche has an obvious bias in his evaluation of Tebow. But doubting that kid is something I wouldn’t do.

Naturally his pro day in mid-March will be the end all be all in determining whether he has altered his throwing mechanics to effectively suit the NFL game.